In the context of the current atrocities perpetrated against the
Palestinians by the Israeli state and army, we, Canadian scholars
meeting at the First National Conference on Critical Race Scholarship
and the University, find it imperative to stand up and denounce
these crimes against humanity and to call for action from our colleagues
and professional organizations.

We urge you to join us in this initiative by immediately circulating
the attached Resolution to your colleagues so that we can make our
voices heard nationally and internationally. The resolution has
already been signed by professors from several Canadian universities.
We need to gather as many signatures as possible within the next
week. Please ensure that your colleague's position, name and affiliation
are sent to: ciars@oise.utoronto.ca

At this critical juncture, we believe it is essential for intellectuals
and scholars to speak up against the Israeli re-invasion of the
Occupied Territories and to support the legitimate rights of the
Palestinian people.

Sincerely,

Sherene Razack

Director,
Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies

RESOLUTION

Critical Race Scholarship and the University
First National Conference, April 27, 2002

The Honourable Jean Chretien, Prime Minister
The Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Chancellors and Presidents of Canadian Universities

We share the growing alarm among independent international organizations
such as Amnesty International, the Red Cross and other human rights
agencies, that Israel's most recent invasion and re-occupation of
the Occupied Territories has violated international conventions
on human rights. We note that a U.N mission was to be dispatched
to report on the possibility that massacres and crimes against humanity
have been perpetrated by the Israeli army at Jenin and the old city
of Nablus. Many independent eye witness accounts have spoken about
"atrocities beyond belief".

The Palestinians have recognized the legitimate existence of the
State of Israel. They have already been made to renounce 78% of
their historical lands. They have an absolute right to be liberated
from occupation and immediately enjoy their own internationally-
recognized sovereign state.

The creation of the Palestinian state can no longer appear as a
reward, to be granted by the occupying power for "marks of
good will" which are always likely to be declared insufficient.
On the contrary, it should be a first decisive step, a minimum prerequisite
which makes it possible to engage in bilateral negotiations and
offer mutual guarantees for peace and security.

In the context of the ongoing destruction of Palestinian infrastructure
and civil society institutions, educational institutions have been
specifically targeted and devastated. Education is the lifeblood
of future generations. The deliberate destruction of Palestinian
educational institutions must be stopped and efforts to rebuild
them must begin immediately.

To this end, we, as Canadian scholars and educators, call on the
Canadian government to publicly and unequivocally demand the immediate
and unilateral withdrawal of all Israeli military forces from the
Palestinian Occupied Territories, the dismantling of illegal settlements,
and the recognition of Palestinian refugees' right to return. We
call on the Canadian government to respond to Israel's non-compliance
with international law and all U.N resolutions.

It is our responsibility as scholars and educators to support our
colleagues and fellow educators in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
in the process of rebuilding their institutions and civil society.

Therefore, we resolve that Canadian scholars and educators should

1. Send a fact-finding mission to the Occupied Palestinian Territories
to assess the damage to Palestinian Society and especially to educational
institutions.

2. Initiate education exchange programs with Palestinian academic
institutions and research centres, similar to the already existing
programs with Israeli educational institutions.

3. Invite Palestinian scholars to Canadian universities to engage
in a meaningful and productive discussion and exchange of knowledge
and experiences.

4. Demand Canadian faculty associations to demonstrate their solidarity
with the Palestinians by financially supporting the above project.

A University of Toronto professor has circulated a letter, signed
by 37 Canadian academics, denouncing Israel for "atrocities"
and calling on fellow professors to sign a pro-Palestinian resolution.

Sherene Razack, director of the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism
Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, part
of the University of Toronto, sent out the letter and resolution
on April 29. It has since been posted on the Internet under the
title: "Academics in Canada speak out."

In her letter, Prof. Razack, who teaches "race and knowledge
production" and "radical education," states: "In
the context of the current atrocities perpetrated against the Palestinians
by the Israeli state and army, we, Canadian scholars ... and the
University, find it imperative to stand up and denounce these crimes
against humanity."

Prof. Razack signs off as the "Director, Centre for Integrative
Anti-Racism Studies," and urges other professors to sign the
resolution using their "position ... and affiliation."

The attached resolution calls on Canadian faculty associations
to "show solidarity with the Palestinians by financially supporting"
projects such as a "fact-finding mission to the Occupied Palestinian
Territories to assess the damage to Palestinian society." It
also claims that the "Palestinians have recognized the legitimate
existence of the State of Israel," and refers to the Israeli
army's occupation of Jenin, citing "many independent eyewitness
accounts" of "atrocities beyond belief."

The resolution is signed by 37 professors, including Sarah Maiter,
of Wilfrid Laurier University, who confirmed she signed the document
when contacted by the National Post, as well as Heather Sykes, another
OISE professor. Of the 37 signatories, 15 are affiliated with the
U of T, the remainder with universities across Canada.

According to an OISE source, who asked not to be named, Prof. Razack
sent out the letter and resolution using her university e-mail;
on the letter she specifically asks respondents to reply to CIARS@OISE.utoronto.ca,
which is the centre's e-mail address at OISE.

Prof. Razack did not return calls from the National Post.

Simon Rosenblum, spokesman for the Canadian Jewish Congress, condemned
the resolution as "a prejudicial, inflammatory and highly biased
view" of the Middle East conflict that "pays no attention
to Israel's attempts to achieve peace nor Israel's legitimate need
for self-defence."

But Mohamed Elmasry, a professor of engineering at the University
of Waterloo and the national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress,
said the resolution is a matter of academic freedom. "It is
only through voicing different opinions on the same subject that
we will be able to advance toward peace," he said, adding the
resolution is "fair, reasonable and just."

Prof. Razack sent her letter more than a week after the Israeli
military ended Operation Defensive Shield, in Jenin, a Palestinian
refugee camp on the West Bank that was a launching point for terrorist
attacks against Israeli civilians. Some Palestinian leaders and
Western media have alleged 500 Palestinians were massacred by the
Israeli army. A subsequent United Nations report, based on accounts
by both Palestinian and Israeli observers, found no evidence of
a massacre or of crimes against humanity.

It confirms the deaths of 52 Palestinians, 38 of whom the Palestinian
Authority acknowledges were armed, and 23 Israeli soldiers.

Prof. Razack's letter comes at a time when academics in Europe
have been organizing boycotts of Israeli institutions in support
of the Palestinians. In July, two Israeli professors were summarily
dismissed by the editor of a British academic journal because of
their nationality.

Meanwhile, about 1,000 professors have signed on to two anti-Israeli
petitions on the Internet, one calling for the boycott of scientific
institutions, the other for breaking cultural links with Israel.

Officials at OISE would not return calls from the Post, but in
May, Cecilia Reynolds, the acting dean, sent a memo to faculty distancing
OISE from the letter and from the impression that the resolution
represented OISE policy.

"Persons who have added their signature to the resolution
have done so as individuals," the memo stated.

Michael Fullan, the current dean of OISE, did not return calls
from the Post, but the OISE source said the matter is before the
Dean's Office. At issue is Prof. Razack's use of OISE resources
to send her petition, and her decision to sign the resolution with
her professional title and affiliation with the university.

Revelations about Prof. Razack's letter come at a sensitive time
for Jewish university students in Canada. The recently released
Anti-Calendar, a student guide to courses published by the university's
Arts and Science Students Union, which represents 16,000 U of T
students, is dedicated this year "to the memory of the Innocents,
Afghanistan and Palestine murdered."

Terry Buckland, editor of the Anti-Calendar, would not agree to
an interview, but told the university's student newspaper: "I
just picked two areas of the world."

In the same paper, Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai
Brith Canada, called the dedication "a horrible, horrible attempt
to marginalize the Jewish community at the U of T."

The dedication has also prompted concerns among some Jewish students
that the coming academic year could bring a repeat of events that
have plagued other campuses. At Concordia University, in Montreal,
anti-Israel protesters last year set up mock roadblocks manned by
students dressed in Israeli military uniforms with the Star of David
on their caps. They stopped all students before they could go to
class. Many Jewish students have said they no longer wear yarmulkes
on campus for fear of reprisals.

Lisa Isen Baumal, director of the U of T's Wolfond Centre for Jewish
Campus Life, says Jewish students here have not faced the same problems
as those at some other universities, but says, "This year,
unfortunately, it might be a little bit different."

Already, Jewish students have taken their concerns to the university's
race relations office and are seeking recourse through the Arts
and Science Student Union, which receives funding through their
tuition fees and is supposed to represent their concerns.